dying chickens

[lindylou1]

Hiya, wonder if you can help??? im totally baffled!! ive had chickens for over a year now, and i seemed to be loosing any cockerel that i got, theyd gulp, go floppy and eventually die!! someone told me it was gapeworm so i got some flubvenvet. At the end of february i got some new ones (black silkie, pair of lemon pekins and a small pekin 4 month old hen). i fed them with the wormer twice over as it told me to, however i hav since lost the cokerel pekin and 4 month old hen, they seem to peck around and eat ok, they did hav a bit of a messy bum. The cockerel this morning when i found him was still alive but couldnt stand, just stretched out now and then and eventually died!! Some of the other birds ive had have been chicks when ive had them and flourished so it seems a bit of a lottery, but its always the childrens favourite that comes to a sticky end?!

Please can you help.

Thanks.
Lindsey

 

[kcjones]

chicks can get messy enough to plug the vent, a friend of mine had one almost dead he washed off the crusty stuff an chick got better right away. i have had to wash a few of mine off when they were young too